CCPS committee to discuss school security policies

The Carroll County Board of Education's Security Advisory Committee will meet Friday at West Middle School to discuss the implementation of the school system's security policies and procedures.

The meeting will be held 8:30 to 11:30 a.m. in the media center at the school, located at 60 Monroe St. in Westminster.

The committee was formed in January 2013 as a result of the heightened interest in school security after the shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut, where a gunman fatally shot 20 children and six school staff members, according to a report from the committee.

According to a report from the committee, security plans and protocols were updated, training was increased. The system received about $870,000 from the state to be allocated toward school security, as part of House Bill 138 in the 2013 legislative session, said CCPS assistant superintendent of administration Jonathan O'Neal.

The bill authorized the use of video lottery proceeds credited to the Education Trust Fund to provide funding for security personnel and equipment at public elementary and secondary schools, and for mental health services. The Carroll County Board of Commissioners also allocated $325,000 of capital funding to match state funds, O'Neal said.

CCPS used the funding to install security systems and equipment in schools throughout the county, which began last August, O'Neal said. Installation was complete by January of this year. "All the schools aren't the same, so it took a while to get it all up and running," O'Neal said.

O'Neal said the system has installed security systems and equipment, which includes electronic visitor ID systems. "It's nice to know who's in your building," O'Neal said.

Although CCPS has had surveillance cameras in schools for "a long time," O'Neal said they were able to install additional cameras in schools in areas that cameras previously didn't cover.

About one quarter of the meeting will be open to the public, O'Neal said. The rest of the meeting will be closed due to the nature of subject matter being discussed.